Don't Put Off For Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

We've all uttered the phrase, "I'll start tomorrow." It's human nature to put off to tomorrow things we don't want — or aren't prepared — to do today.

This phrase is particularly common among people starting a diet or exercise plan (those words alone can trigger the urge to procrastinate!). Unfortunately, "tomorrow" so often turns into "next week," which turns into "next month," and eventually "next year."

However, when it comes to your health, I'm here to tell you NOT to wait; GET STARTED with a new fitness routine TODAY! Doing so will help you see a positive change in your physical (and mental) health — and the sooner you start, the sooner you'll see AND feel the results.

But how do you know if what you're doing is working? Sometimes it's difficult to tell. Fortunately, there's a cardiorespiratory metric called VO2max that improves immediately with an exercise regimen — so it's the perfect way to track your progress! And you can conveniently measure your VO2max on an advanced fitness smartwatch like the Amazfit Stratos

Although there is a genetic component to what your starting VO2max is, and how much it will actually improve, even with bad genetics, significant effort could boost VO2max several points in just 1-2 months.

Even modest exercise will bump you out of the lowest fitness level category, which can have vast positive implications:

Diseases and mortality risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, cancer and heart disease are all decreased with an increase in VO2max

Health care costs can be decreased annually, potentially up to $1,600 per person for every 3.5 (1-MET). If lowering your medical bills isn't motivating, I don't know what is!

What's the fastest way to increase your VO2max? Interval training is probably the most efficient fitness routine to increasing VO2max because of the enhanced effect on adaptation with higher intensities. However, just starting somewhere and increasing activity will reap benefits.

Sofia Rodriguez is a Fitness & Health Expert in the VA/DC area. She has a Masters in Clinical Exercise Physiology and has worked with cardiac, cancer, diabetic, and injury rehab patients in the past. She is a Certified Personal Trainer ranked among top trainers in the country with many years of experience training clients for weight loss, muscle gain, and overall health. Sofia has been the go-to expert on many TV morning shows, has been featured in several magazines and online publications such as Forbes & Huffington Post, is a published fitness writer, a fitness model, and specializes in bodybuilding and nutrition. She is bilingual, speaking fluent Spanish and English.